Katsuki
by MissssKick
Summary: By the time the dust settles after Kamino Ward, Bakugou Katsuki is not found. As a last ditch attempt to hurt the Symbol of Peace, the League of Villains sells the star-pupil they had kidnapped into slavery.
1. Down Under

**A/N: This is a story that is complete and with an ongoing sequel on AO3.  
**

 **I don't quite like FF so much, I don't use it a lot these days. So I'm just leaving the first four chapter here (as they aren't MA-rated), since I made heavy edits on the whole story on AO3 and I don't feel like editing 33 full chapters here too, since editing stories here is such a long-haul compared to AO3.**

 **So. Here are the TAGS on AO3 if you're interested in checking it out:**

 **Relationships:** Bakugou Katsuki/Pain and Suffering

 **Characters:** Bakugou Katsuki / Original Characters

 **Aditional Tags:** Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot / He also suffers a lot / He doesn't deserve this / Time Skips / Dissociation / Stockholm Syndrome / Bakugou Katsuki-centric / Non-Consensual Bondage / Self-Hatred / Slavery / Sexual Slavery / Suicidal Thoughts / Gang Rape / Implied/Referenced Self-Harm / Sexual Abuse / Mental Instability / Slave Trade / Master/Slave / Non-Consensual Body Modification / Self-Acceptance / Roommates / Dubious Morality / Rivalry / Drunk Sex / Attempted Murder / Angst and Tragedy / Abandonment / Survival / Sickness / Cannibalism / Murder / Animal Attack / Paranoia / Blood and Torture / Non-Consensual Drug Use / Descent into Madness / Explicit Sexual Content / Rape Rape/Non-con Elements / Abuse / Age Regression/De-Aging / Dubious Consent / Non-Consensual Blow Jobs / Non-Consensual Oral Sex / Slut Shaming / Forced Prostitution / Forced Quirk Breeding / Humiliation / Worldbuilding / Ambiguous/Open Ending

 **Link is on my profile page.**

* * *

 **Down Under**

* * *

 **I**

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He supposed there were worse situations to be stuck in.

Granted, he was shackled, without power, in an unknown place, and it's possible no one knows where the fuck he even is…

But he'd figure something out.

Even if he couldn't see a way out now, he surely… He surely _would_ find a way out of this mess…!

Katsuki gritted his teeth, shifting where he was sitting on his knees, pulling his wrist above his head in yet another attempt to squeeze it through the hoop of his chain bindings. He could feel it chaffing his skin, wearing it down to flesh at this point, but he ignored it, biting his lower lip as he strained to pull. He felt like he was so close, the hoop wasn't that small…

Damn it… His knees were also chaffing from scrapping on the rough cement floor despite the fabric of his pants being in the way. What a shitty dungeon. Airless, humid, and small. Could they be any more _cliché_ with their hideouts and cells?

He stopped when hearing a noise outside his darkened cell, focusing on his hearing to know if someone was approaching, but it seemed to be a distant set of footsteps just passing somewhere beyond the hallway. All other noises were the sound of a slowly leaking pipe somewhere, and what he could only describe as the sound of emptiness hitting the rock walls and back, reaching his ears in an eerie manner.

With nothing to worry about for now, he renewed his quiet struggle.

If only he could free his _hands,_ then maybe he could get this fucking _collar_ off his neck and get the hell out of this dump.

It was electric, he could feel the buzzing heat under it, and his neck was still bleeding from where its tiny rods dug into his flesh. It would probably hurt to break it apart, but he couldn't use his Quirk while wearing it.

So he would have to bear the pain of electrocution _again_. He didn't mind, he could probably handle it now that he knew what to expect. He could get it off if he was quick and strong enough.

Then he'd be free to _murder_ these fuckers and find his way back home.

The fucking _League of Villains…_ He'd make them _pay_ for this shit one day. Katsuki scowled at the memory.

 _"Yes, yes, this one will fetch a nice price."_

They _sold_ him. _They fucking **sold** him._ Like a _dog._ What kind of bullshit is that?! He scoffs at the thought, grimacing as he pulls harder.

Maybe he shouldn't be so surprised. They were _Villains_ after all. Fucking scum.

Katsuki didn't buy their stupid bullshit. He didn't give a shit about their sales-pitch for their crappy life-style.

So of course, they got butthurt and _sold_ him. What a bunch of f–

Footsteps. Katsuki stopped and glared at the bars of his cell. That man showed up, just as he expected.

 _Katsuki still had his hands bound, body strapped on a chair, and someone was holding his head by the hair, pulling it back and exposing his neck. A strange collar was fastened around it. He spat all the curses he knew, but it was no use. It was tight and uncomfortable, but once it was fastened, the stranger put a key on it and turned. Immediately, Katsuki feels it burn and sting._

 _"What the fuck is this?!"_

 _"That's to keep you from misbehaving too much." The man, not that much older, said and backed away._

 _He saw a nasty smirk on that bitch with the knife, and generally unsympathetic looks from the other Villains. The restraints were taken off and Katsuki immediately sprang into action, kicking the masked fucker who unleashed him and reaching for his Quirk–_

 _Except instead of igniting nitroglycerin on his palms, his body locked into its current position, a hot shock searing through his body from the neck, his vision flashes and his throat muscles constricted enough that he couldn't breathe. It was gone after what felt like an eternity, and he collapsed on the ground, gasping for air._

 _His body. It wouldn't move._ _He was paralyzed._

 _He could hear mocking snickering from that knife-bitch and a curious hum from that fire-freak as his vision blurred and faded into darkness._

Thus, here _he_ is again, the fucker who dragged him in here to begin with. The door to his cell was opened and Katsuki sneered. "When I get out of here, I'm going to make you pay, you fucking piece of shit!" He spat loudly.

The man gave no sign of being intimidated. "You don't seem to understand the situation you're in." He smirked. Katsuki barely took notice of the strange accent, when he suddenly kicked Katsuki square on the jaw.

Katsuki gasped and spat what was probably a little bit of blood and glared daggers at him. "Trying to _scare_ me?!"

That rewarded him with another kick that made his vision spin.

Katsuki just grew more infuriated. "What the fuck is your deal?!"

 _Another kick,_ rattling his sense of direction momentarily. He shook his head to orient himself again. If this kept going, he would lose a fucking tooth. He took a moment to search his mouth with his tongue to find the source of the metallic taste.

Goddamn bastard would just beat him up? Why the fuck–

"You best learn now. Here, you're not allowed to speak unless asked to."

"Hah?! What's–"

 _Kick._

Ah, shit… _Speaking_ was being punished. His mouth already felt numb and burning. _Fine then,_ he wasn't a fucking masochist. He settled for scowling, wishing his eyes could make the fucker combust on the spot.

"That's the first rule. Don't speak up." The man raised a finger in front of him. "You're no longer a free man, you're a _slave_ now."

"Hah?! What the fuck!" He shouted without thinking. A slave–?!

A foot planted itself on his forehead, making his head hit the wall behind him and he unconsciously let out a grunt of pain, and then a growl as he glared from behind the dirty shoe on his face.

"A man chooses. A slave _obeys."_ The man said slowly, enunciating each word. "This will be the first lesson we'll be carving into your mind here."

The foot was removed, and Katsuki glowered silently, taking short huffing breaths, his wide eyes filled with nothing but simmering fury.

The man scoffed at him, turning to leave his cell. "Welcome to our little Conditioning Center, _Ka-tsu-ki."_

His name rolled off the man's tongue awkwardly with the strange accent. Katsuki already _hated_ it even more.

The cell was opened and closed, and Katsuki was left alone again. He resisted the urge to scream in rage, and began to pull at his shackles, maybe to try and pull this whole fucking wall apart and use the chain as a whip to beat that bastard with. Turn his smug face into a bloody smear on the ground.

A slave? Katsuki scoffed. _As if._

…He really needed to get the fuck out of this shithole.

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	2. Stubbornness

**A/N: Full story on AO3 because FF is so damn limited with story formatting.**

* * *

Stubbornness

* * *

 **II**

Katsuki refused to be their slave. He refused to _obey_ them.

When he talked back, they hurt him with a beating. Never harsh enough to cause permanent damage. But just enough to make him _bleed_.

Throwing insults felt like a waste of time already. So he resorted to other ways of resistance.

When they gave him water, he didn't drink it. It could be drugged.

When they gave him food, he didn't eat it. He didn't know what that shit was made of.

They just laughed at his face and took the food and water away.

He wanted to refuse to sleep as well, and held on out of sheer willpower and spite. He didn't know what these people would do to him while he was out cold.

His mind became increasingly muddled as the hours went by. His eyes were heavy and he was soon having a hard time just keeping them open. He couldn't keep his head steady anymore.

He sighed and dozed off, just to _rest his eyes a bit,_ and then he startled himself into attention, his face was on the ground and his hands were no longer chained to the wall. They were chained close together in front of him, but no longer above his head and stuck.

He passed out. Goddamn it…!

Katsuki pulled at the new restrains as he sat up, clicking his tongue. It disturbed him that these people got so close while he was _asleep_ … But he supposed they could have just knocked him out if they wanted to do something _weird_ …

Maybe _not_ sleeping wasn't his brightest idea… He was left exhausted, with his mind heavy. Like _thinking_ was just too much of a hassle.

Now, though, the emergency in his mind snapped back to the main issue.

The manacles were off and he was alone, so he tried to get the collar off, only to get shocked again and ended up paralyzed on the ground, feeling like the back of his neck and throat was being cooked.

It took a ridiculous amount of time for it to wear off.

He thought he just wasn't fast or strong or persistent enough, and tried again, harder. Same result. Down on the ground, twitchy and feeling an uncomfortable buzz everywhere.

After that round of paralysis wore off, he sat up and then tried to pry the device for weaknesses with his fingers, carefully now. He could hear faded steps somewhere, but ignored it.

"Aah." That man stood on the other end of his cell again, smirking. "Don't do that. That thing is made to deal with people with powerful Quirks, but it causes nerve damage. It's why it's considered a violation of 'human rights'." He said with air quotes, laughing as if the concept itself was a joke. "So if you keep that up, you'll just end up a _vegetable."_

Katsuki stopped, glaring daggers before something snapped in his head. He stood and tried to grab him through the bars, snarling in rage, which his captor seemed to find amusing.

 _His only reward that day/night was a beating. Without his Quirk, he was no match for anyone…_

He wakes up again, feeling numbness in most of his body, but his head was just a bit clearer and now he was at least free to _wander in his cell…_ His legs weren't broken, at least. How gracious. Those fucks…

A small cubicle of space, just enough to stretch both arms in any direction with little problem – if he _could_ stretch his damn arms – and with a toilet, which he desperately needed to use and now _finally_ could. But that was about it. The metal of the bars was sturdy, he couldn't break it, and he couldn't find anything he could use to try his luck with picking a lock or something.

He didn't know how many times he wandered in circles in the cell. He didn't want to sit and wait. He was restless. Wasting energy he wasn't replacing. Looking for… _something_.

A weak spot on the wall, maybe.

Just… _anything_ that could help.

He didn't know anything about prison escapes. Probably because he never thought he'd ever be on the wrong side of the bars. He had no idea what he was doing.

So he wandered and stupidly pulled at the chains around his wrists.

He stopped wasting his breath on that bastard whenever he passed by, but he was still refusing food and water and sleep.

He knew this was senseless. If he wanted to escape, he'd need the energy to do so, needed food and water, needed sleep. But staying _still_ just felt like _defeat_. He was tired, his whole body was sore from the rough treatment, and his legs burned.

If he sat down now, he wouldn't want to get up…

But he couldn't _keep_ _moving_. He needed _rest._ And he needed to sit down and be _patient._

Katsuki stopped and leaned back on the wall, bringing his hands up to touch the collar. This _fucking_ _collar_.

He needed a key. So he needed to know where to find one. Maybe if he paid attention long enough, he'd get a clue…

Okay… He'd stop wandering.

He sat down to _watch_ instead. It felt like such a relief to rest his legs…

He's been there for… he'd say two or three days…? Could he wait much longer without taking their damn food and water and avoiding sleep? He didn't notice until he sat down, but it was ridiculously difficult to stand again…

He got tired so quickly without nutrients and dehydrated. He hasn't felt the need to use that toiled for way too long… He's running dangerously low on water…

Hours must have gone by after he noted this.

…No, he couldn't wait. Not really. Katsuki was hungry, and by the third day, he was too thirsty to care about spiked drinks. He drank their fucking water when it was given this time – it was the very definition of _relief_.

No drugs, hopefully.

He threw the cup at their fucking faces and got another beating, which his stomach did not enjoy, and neither did his face. He had stressed himself over nothing, probably looked foolish while doing it too, wearing himself ragged with hunger and thirst. No wonder they were _laughing_ at his face. Mocking him with foreign words.

To add more salt to the wound, he found no clues as to how he could escape and find the keys, even after three rounds from guards.

There were always two guards dealing with the cages, one to open it with a key, and other to handle the prisoner, and to top it off, they never gave him a clue as to what their Quirks were. Then they left with the keys tied to their wrists and hid them somewhere _else_ entirely afterwards, and Katsuki couldn't go looking when he couldn't even leave the fucking cell.

To further escalate the annoying feeling in his gut, he realized he wasn't the only person in this shitty situation. There were other cells in the hallway, he knew, but it was just too dark to see and the angle wasn't favorable from where he usually sat, they were just a little too _quiet…_

He tried getting their attention when there were no guards, but no one spoke a word. He only saw them move when he approached the bars while food and water was brought, and even then, it was still difficult to get a clear look. They were quiet and hunched over.

Like wounded animals.

His eyes widened in outrage. This is what these bastards wanted to do to him. Turn him into _that._

Well, he wasn't letting them.

Even though he was sleeping on the floor and eating their damn food and drinking their fucking water.

He couldn't escape if he had no energy to do so. This was just necessary.

* * *

 **III**

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Katsuki didn't know how many days have passed with him sitting and staring ahead at nothing.

He was filthy. His hair was matted, his skin felt like wet pieces of ham, and his clothes reeked. Looking down as his crossed legs under him, the soles of his feet were dark, as someone had taken his _shoes_ while he was passed out.

That makes it _two times_ they got so close while he was out cold… The only two times they've left him with evidence of it, at least. Who knows what else they've done without him noticing?

Who knows what they _could_ do…?

When nobody came, there was nothing to do other than stare at the walls. Nobody in the other cells talked to him, so it was no use wasting his time with them.

He hated it, he was _bored_ most of the time spent alone. But also irritated, tired, and spaced-out.

When somebody came, he'd watch for possible weaknesses while eating shitty bread and drinking lukewarm water. For a while, they actually sort of left him alone as long as he didn't speak.

It was getting more and more frustrating…

He couldn't track their routine well when he couldn't see the sun. He'd settled for counting the seconds, but that was thrown off-whack every time he passed out.

He wasn't even sure tracking their patterns would _help._ All plans ended with the fact that he was powerless and stuck in a small cell. What could he do while functionally _Quirkless…?_

Just as he mulled his options quietly, glaring at the floor and biting his nails, _that_ man showed up.

"How are you holding up there?" The question was asked with obvious amusement.

'Peachy' Katsuki wanted to say, but much to his own mortification, he hesitated to let the word out and bit his thumb's nail instead, maintaining his glare.

His ribs still stung painfully from the last time he slipped out a word. If he moved too much, he swore he could feel it poke his damn lung.

The man nodded with a smile and moved on. Fucking asshole… He should have spat something insulting, consequences be damned.

Katsuki was starting to think he and that asshat were the only ones there who spoke Japanese, too. No one else spoke to him. Only _that_ guy took upon himself to annoy the shit out of him by asking stupid questions with that smug expression.

The moment Katsuki snapped and raised his voice, he'd be _punished_.

If he spoke, he'd just get hurt.

If he _didn't_ speak, he'd be obeying them.

…Fuck… When realizing the trickery, he began talking back on purpose, because staying quiet was accepting _defeat._

He could handle what they threw at him.

He attempted to get information while talking back, anything important, but it seems getting him to snap with words and then punishing him for it was all that fuckface wanted to do.

The moment Katsuki opened his mouth, he was done talking to him and his lackeys did the rest.

He had trained his body since young. He could handle _beatings_. Punches until blood dripped from his mouth and nose, and until he was having a hard time breathing, and until his eyes were swollen shut. Kicks once he was down and leaving him with splintered bones on top of it all.

It was _fine_. It was all healed by _this_ _woman_ soon after, so it was just stupid torture to break him. He could handle that pain, easy.

…He couldn't _stand_ this place anymore, though.

He thought that _maybe_ he could fight back _without_ his Quirk and grab their keys to free his hands. If only he could leave his cell, he could run for it and find the key to the collar.

Yeah… desperate plan, maybe. But the longer he stayed in this hole, the more _dread_ seemed to grow inside him. The more he felt like they'd do _something_ to him. He needed to _move._

The first time Katsuki attempted to actively fight back, despite being unable to use his Quirk, he caught them by surprise. Expected, he'd been relatively compliant until then.

He was tired, but he still found himself capable of kicking one down in the solar plexus once he walked into his cell with his meal. The one by the door froze for a single second before Katsuki was on him, both hands grabbing him by the neck and hitting his head on the empty cell bars behind.

Neither passed out, but were just mildly disoriented and one nearly grabbed him – Katsuki took off into the hallway to the right, towards where the guards always came from.

That led him to another adjacent hallway and everything slowed down.

Shit! Now he had to guess which side to follow! He usually heard footsteps coming from the _right,_ but when they left, they always went in the other direction – so he went _right,_ since they got the keys from somewhere before coming to the cells, don't they?!

Katsuki barely ran five steps into that direction before something tied around his legs and made him face-plant into the ground, his hands barely stopping his momentum. A foot dug into his back, uncomfortably close to his collared neck.

"That was very dumb, Katsuki. Very, _very_ dumb." That _fuckface._ Katsuki craned his neck to look, saw that his fingers turned into silvery wires, now tied painfully around his ankles. "You know what we do with slaves who try to escape?" He smirked and Katsuki found himself swallowing dry despite his sneer.

Strings were tied around his chest and arms instead, and he was dragged back. Katsuki swore and cursed out loud all the way as he tried to find his footing. It was difficult to do so while he was dragged off and he just got scratches on his feet for his troubles.

He found himself in another room, and there was also a tank of water. Katsuki swore mentally when seeing it and readied himself for what was coming. Two more entered the room.

The usual violent beat down was expected – _it injured him more than usual, also expected._ Maybe he should just be glad they wouldn't do something _worse_ to him, but the thought didn't quench the dread.

After that round of abuse, he was dragged and forced to kneel in front of the tank, then had something tied around his neck over the collar – harsh enough to nearly make him choke, and a hand dunked his head in.

Being drowned in freezing water _hurt_. It hurt a lot. No matter how long he tried to hold his breath in and struggle to pull out, his body inevitably betrayed him and drew breath, making him panic when there was no air coming in.

It burned his throat and lungs. When pulled out, he coughed harshly enough that it racked his whole torso in pain as his body attempted to expel the water from where it _shouldn't_ be. He was beaten while down again, before being dragged by the hair and dunked under water again, having it mix with his own blood.

 _…He could stand pain. He knew he could…_

This was done enough times that he could barely breathe or move…

His vision spun and blurred, his mind trudged along slowly to process, and then he was dragged back to his cell, this time too exhausted to fight back and he could see the trail of blood his wounds left from his bleeding face and limbs as well as the water dripping from his soaked head. Whatever had been tied around his neck to keep the collar mostly dry was pulled off, easing the pressure.

He was shoved back into his cell, unable to stand, barely managing to draw air, and _that_ _woman_ showed up to tend to his wounds once again. She was… kind and nice…

He couldn't help it, he laughed breathlessly at their attempts at manipulating him into compliance, laughed despite the pain it inflicted on his chest.

He knew what this shit was. He knew _exactly_ what they were trying to do. He knew this woman couldn't be trusted, with her soft voice and her healing Quirk, which seemed to work by the way she rubbed her hands over where the pain and wounds were.

Like a nice massage… It made him want to sleep more.

She tended to show up to take care of him whenever things got too rough. Healed even the scars and fractures and missing teeth.

Such a stupid _trick…_

This goddamn _bitch_ was dumb as a rock if she thought she was getting to him with her fake caress. She wasn't. Even if he kind of looked forward to it… Even if he relaxed while she was around…

He just wanted to be healed so the pain would disappear. That's all there was to it… _Really…_

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	3. Ticking Time

**A/N: Full story on AO3 because FF has slow traffic. I have 2,5K stories on my favorites in my other account, and updates aren't even daily.**

* * *

Ticking Time

* * *

 **IV**

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How many days now…?

Maybe it's even been more than a few weeks, judging by how his hair grew just over his ears. Way past the time of trimming…

…Well…

After another two new attempts to escape – _all similarly desperate spurs of the moment that ended in failure and pain –_ Katsuki had more than enough time to sit still and think about his current situation, and about whether or not he had any chance of finding a way _out_.

He sighed, staring morosely at the bars from his corner of the cell, knees drawn and chained red wrists resting over them.

Short of being _rescued_ , he couldn't figure it out. He tried. He _fucking tried_ for as long as he could to think of something. Anything.

The collar needed a key.

But he didn't know where that was.

If it was with a guard, he couldn't fight them for it.

And if it wasn't with a guard, then the keys were beyond his cell… _and he couldn't leave the fucking cell…!_ Not without alerting anyone. He tried with his failed attempts of escaping already, and obviously, none of it ended well.

He was essentially Quirkless here.

This small square space was his world. No way to use his Quirk and no way to overpower anyone in the place, and no way of getting out undetected.

…Yeah. Short of being rescued, he wasn't… quite… _sure_ on how to escape… The thought made him grit his teeth and dig his nails into his palms, fists clenching as his glare hardened.

He wondered if _Deku_ actually listened to him for once… He _told_ him not to come for him… He wondered if he stayed back like he'd _told_ him to… But then again, Deku always came for him, even when nobody asked him to, even when he told him to _fuck_ _off_.

He was just that kind of idiot.

Katsuki had dreamed with that a few times now – a _dream_ in which the Heroes and Deku _actually_ show up. He feels such a breath-taking _relief_ that when he wakes up, he berates himself angrily for hours.

 _'Stupid, stupid, stupid…!'_

He wasn't stupid; he knew a _dead-end_ when he saw one.

Short of _somehow_ being rescued and short of a _miraculous_ technical failure of the collar, _there was no way out._ There was nothing he could do without _power._

He could feel the buzz of the collar constantly.

* * *

 **V**

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Katsuki didn't know how long he stayed in that filthy cell. He hasn't moved from this corner in a while, lying down with his back to the wall, blankly watching the bars.

…He was just so goddamn tired…

He was tired of these people, tired of pain; tired of the shitty food; tired of sleeping on the cold floor like an animal; tired of being tired; tired, tired, **tired** …

He was just done with their crap.

It was easier to barely respond, just obey the fucking rule and make them happy, and they'll stop annoying him with their shit and leave him alone to **sleep** a little more. He didn't want to think about his failure to escape or his dwindling will to move, or the perpetual weakness settling in his body, getting worse and worse and _worse._

Each day was a hassle and it felt like a growing pit in stomach, he could _feel_ it. He could feel it when he found himself thinking that it wasn't worth the pain and effort.

He found himself hesitating to speak up and spit curses even when he actually _wanted_ to do so. Those stayed in his head. It just wasn't _worth_ it, his mind said.

This actually seemed to please these pieces of shit. They left him to sleep for a few extra hours.

He didn't care if he was being rewarded like a well-behaved dog.

He just wanted to _sleep_ , to curl up for warmth in his corner and to be left alone for a little while, just enough to be fully rested. Clearly, how long he already slept juts wasn't _enough._ One shitty piece of bread and a cup of water plus what felt like two hours of sleep just weren't **_enough…!_**

What he wouldn't give for _his_ _bed_ at this point…? Hell, _a_ bed would do…

He's sure that if he could just rest up properly, his mind would clear up and his body would have more energy to spare. His sharp headaches would be gone. Then he'd be able to actually _focus_ for a few minutes…

Maybe a _shower_ would help too. Just the filth was probably half of his total weight at this point.

Ah… He'd been living in the lap of luxury until this whole shitshow began, hasn't he? He never realized how pampered he was. His parents always provided him with everything since the day he was born.

Good food to let him grow strong, fresh water to use and drink at his leisure, a sturdy house and room for shelter and privacy, clothes that were always _magically_ washed and clean in his closet, and a comfortable bed to sleep on every single day.

…Wow, he really missed his _house_ …

He kinda missed his parents, too… and his mother. For all the crap he gave her for treating him like shit, she didn't _actually_ treat him like shit.

 _This_ is being treated like shit.

His mother was an _angel_ in comparison. How many times did he call her a hag in the past…? Nah, the bitch who healed him was a hag… Not his mother… His mother was at least _honest._

 _…Why did he take all of it for granted…?_

He closed his eyes.

…He's been wasting more and _more_ time thinking about things that wouldn't help him escape…

But he excused himself for it. He was just too _tired_ to focus on making plans… He'd do that as soon as he got the rest he needed…

Steps. _Goddamn_ _it,_ he wanted to sleep…

"Hello there."

Katsuki only opened one eye to check, and saw that fuckface, who he called _Wires_ now, just as he expected. He stopped by his cell routinely from time to time.

Katsuki closed it again, ignoring him. A few seconds of silence. "We're glad you're finally behaving a bit better, Katsuki." The man said in a self-satisfied tone.

 _'Stop saying my name'_ Katsuki wanted to hiss. This goddamn fucker… just looking at him pissed him off _so much…_

"The next rule is this: You will not look at your betters in the _eye_ from now on, hear that?" Like a _dog_ lowering its head in submission. The distaste overpowered his exhaustion.

 _…Fuck this guy…_

Katsuki sneered back at him and was soon promptly punished for it. Dragged out by the hair and ruffed up enough that he couldn't quite feel the left side of his face or some of his limbs.

Adrenaline doing its job.

Then he's back in his cell with that _bitch_ again. He felt _so_ tempted to just follow the damn rule and go back to sleep…

* * *

 **VI**

"…You should stop doing this, you know? You're just hurting yourself…" The tone was soft and kind.

His hands were still shackled together and were pulled above him.

 _This bitch who healed him…_ Katsuki remained still on the ground, glaring weakly at the ceiling, and ignored her. She spoke English, so he could actually understand her despite the accent.

He preferred to hear incoherent foreign babble, so he could more easily ignore it. But it made no difference in the end.

He winced when a nail was removed from his palm, courtesy of a sick fuck who didn't like the way Katsuki _looked_ at him.

"I know this is difficult, but life will be easier if you stop being so stubborn…" She murmured softly, rubbing his bloody fingers.

Katsuki narrowed his eyes, not looking at her. _'Stop pretending to be on my side'_ he wanted to say, but found himself tongue-tied, as usual these days.

She was rubbing his wounded hand, and it feels _nice_ – but he _knows_ she's with **them**.

He fucking _knows_ this is just another dirty _trick_. She's trying to trick him into speaking, like that fuckface Wires always did before, but she did it while _pretending_. Lying, making him think she could be _trusted_.

It made him want to laugh. She thought he felt _safe_ with her?

Idiot…!

He knew she was just waiting. The moment he opened his mouth, she'd hurt him like everyone else in this shithole always does.

He couldn't trust _anybody._

He couldn't speak to anyone.

He couldn't even _look_ at anyone.

Anyone and everyone in this place was just looking for excuses to hurt him more.

For all he knew, even the other prisoners would rat him out if he uttered something. He wasn't playing their fucking game. Not with them, not with Wires, and not with this bitch.

As if summoned by his thoughts, that bastard showed up. Katsuki recognized his footsteps at this point.

He stopped to talk to the woman in a foreign language he couldn't understand. They talked for a minute before she stood and left his cell. Wires remained by the bars, watching him.

Katsuki's hand was no longer bleeding, but it was left with a slightly numb feeling to it. He wiped the blood off on his already filthy clothes.

Plenty of blood, sweat, grime, dust and dirt on it at this point.

Katsuki sat up and dragged himself with a grunt across the cemented floor to lean against the wall, knees close to his chest.

He didn't look at Wires and he didn't speak. He felt like shit for it, but _it wasn't worth it._

"Now, now, Katsuki, it's about time we taught you to obey commands, don't you think?" He sounded smug as always.

Katsuki gritted his teeth, holding his tongue back in the process.

This is what it's been leading up to, right…? Making him _obey?!_ He knew that, even as he catered to their fucking rules. He did so because he wanted to avoid unnecessary _pain._ He hated it – _he could handle it_ , but he _hated_ it.

That's the only reason he stopped speaking and stopped looking.

"You've been with us for three months now. That's really _slow_ progress, by our standards at least, and so far, you haven't been a good investment. So listen–"

His heart rate picked up, as he had a sudden feeling of what he was about to say.

"We can't hurt our reputation by selling a slave that can't work well, can we? So, if you get too close to costing us more than you're worth, we'll have to _put you down."_ He enunciated the last three words slowly.

Katsuki's eyes widened, but he still stayed quiet.

"So, your stubbornness really took time off your clock, you can only blame _yourself_ for that, so think about that. I'll see you tomorrow, Katsuki." He tapped the cell bar he was leaning on and left.

Katsuki relaxed his body and looked at his hands. So this is what it's come to, huh?

Three months.

They've been attempting to break him for _three months,_ and even though he didn't come out of it unscathed, he held on and still refused to be a _slave._

He was a _prisoner._ Not a slave. They didn't _break_ him.

Katsuki slowly grinned, clenching his hands into fists.

If he could only hang on for a _little while longer,_ they'd have no other choice but to put him down, because they just _couldn't break him._

He'd **win**.

If he wasn't getting out of this prison, then he'd have to deal with the cards he still had in hand.

As long as they didn't break him, he'd win.

It would be over and he'd sign off victorious, a man – _not a slave –_ until the very end.

He could already imagine, their faces clouded with defeat. They were so _smug_ at first, but they didn't _get_ to him, they didn't turn him into a slave after all…! They lost the game! He'd laugh and curse and spit at them once they came to end him. What a sweet revenge _that_ would be…!

With a goal in sight, he felt more _alive_ than he ever did in this hellhole.


	4. Rugs Pulled

**A/N: Full story on AO3 because editing here costs _way_ too much time.**

* * *

Rugs Pulled

* * *

 **VII**

.

.

.

Each day of torture gone by, Katsuki was a day closer to his victory.

They tried to make him follow their commands, but Katsuki ignored them. They tried hurting him as punishment – _long beatings, waterboarding, pulling teeth off, scarring, all healed good as new right after –_ but with an end-goal in sight, Katsuki could _bear_ it all with a heroic effort.

He grinned at that bitch who healed him, eagerly listening as she spouted her platitudes and empty promises, because he could _hear_ how impatient she would get when he clearly wasn't listening – wasn't _breaking._

In fact, he could say that in their eyes, each day he grew more and more ready to take them on.

They were so _confused_ and it was so _sweet_ to watch. He saw the suspicious glances they threw at him whenever they passed by his cell, they were pissed off and on edge.

The clock was ticking, day by day, and they _knew_ they'd lose in the end.

He saw Wires' mask of smugness _crack_ every day now. _"…You're cutting your time short here, Katsuki."_ He warned him several times, each time growing more and more stressed.

Katsuki didn't reply or look at him from his corner, but couldn't hold back the smirk, hidden by the darkness of his cell.

Wires scoffed and walked away. Katsuki waited as he and the other guards tended to the other prisoners – _slaves,_ as occasionally one or two would be taken out of the cells and led away, silently following behind with their heads down, never to be seen again.

Only then, quietness would let Katsuki sleep in peace.

 _…But while left alone, his mind would sometimes wonder if this was really the best way to go about this…_

Maybe if he cooperated, he could actually leave this place. Maybe being _bought_ by someone would open doors to other new chances of escape somewhere else. Maybe there was really a rescue on the way, and he just needed to hang on as much as possible.

 _…He wanted to live, didn't he…?_

But the _realistic_ side of him begged to differ when it came to his chances.

He couldn't possibly pretend to _cooperate._ If he ever _acted_ like a slave, he'd _be_ a slave, and that would be the end of him anyway.

He would _not_ do that.

Being bought and forced to work to death somewhere was no better. Who's to say there would even _be_ a way to escape then? Knowing his luck so far, he honestly doubted it. Even if he just went to check and then immediately found a way to end himself if there was no way out, he'd just have lowered himself to an animal for nothing, so then why not end it here anyway?

There would be _no_ way out either way. He _knew_ it. So that was just a waste of energy. He _had_ _no_ _more_ _energy_ left…

And a rescue…? Yeah, he didn't believe for a _second_ that anyone knew where the fuck he was. He wasn't in Japan, he knew _that_ at this point.

Katsuki rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, turning on his corner to lie on his back, glaring blearily at the ceiling that he could barely see in the dark.

 _No._

There was just nothing left. He was _done_ and he'd hurt these fuckers where it hurt the most on his way out. He knew they had pride in their _craft._ Wires boasted about their record often enough.

 _That_ would be the end of this shitshow. Katsuki would _ruin_ their goddamn party and they'd fucking _remember_ it.

* * *

 **VIII**

He woke up to voices outside his cell.

Katsuki had curled up on the ground, his back touching the wall, and as he woke up, he just sat up with a yawn.

 _Another day,_ and he'd once again steel his will and bear it. His deadline was coming soon, he guessed.

Sometimes he partially hoped it would come sooner so he could get this over with already. Other times, he dreaded it altogether and let out a sigh of relief when it didn't happen for the day.

Moments of _weakness._

Absolutely _pointless_ weakness.

A bright light suddenly shone on his face and Katsuki reeled back with a hiss, shackled hands over his face. "Hello, hello, Katsuki~" He heard Wires in English, chipper again despite his obvious annoyance over the last few days.

Wires had a flashlight, now pointed just under Katsuki's general direction, and he could see the sickly sweet smile on his smug face.

It's too early for this shit and he glared right back. He saw another, older man with Wires. Taller, suited, and with round glasses.

Katsuki glared at him too for good measure.

The older man leaned closer to the cell, rubbing his chin. The way his eyes focused on Katsuki – _going down and then up slowly –_ it made the hairs on the back of his head stand on end, it was _creepy._ "Hmm… Asian, fair skinned, blond, _red-eyed…_ that's rare… But… it's not well trained yet, right?"

Katsuki scoffed loudly. He's an _'it'_ now…

Both men frowned at the noise he made, but turned to each other. Wires sighed like an exasperated parent. "It's been five months, we still get attitude and it won't obey."

That long, huh…? When is the cyanide needle coming along, anyway? Or would they just shoot him on the back of the head and dump his body in a ditch with other corpses?

"But you can't keep it for much longer, can you? Any more and you won't get a profit with its current price, and you can't raise the price to make up for it if the quality isn't good."

"…Now you understand my plight."

 _That's right,_ Katsuki wanted to say. _I win, fucker._ Even if this would inevitably end his life, he'd not die as a _slave_. He'd die as a _man_ who resisted until the bitter end. He held back a grin, teeth gritted behind pressed lips.

 _Sweet, sweet victory._

His musings were interrupted by a pat on the cell bar. Looking up, he saw the other man grinning at Wires. "Tell you what. It's still way below my budget, so I'll take it off your hands and see what _my_ employees can do. I'm sure a wealthier handler should try to break it, right? It's a worthy investment for me, considering the rare phenotype. I'll give you 5% of the final cut as well."

 _Huh…?_

The world seemed to fall apart around him. Katsuki wanted to scream. Voices were muffled.

 _"It's probably for the best, I guess. It seems this market is not the best for cute little Katsuki here."_ Wires gave Katsuki's wide eyed stare a smug smirk, and exchanged a handshake with the other man. _"It's settled then."_

 _"Indeed, thank you for letting me know."_

Once the stranger left, Wires crouched in front of his cell, face twisting with sick amusement. "You think you're _so_ _smart_ , eh?" He hissed in Japanese. "You think I didn't notice what you were doing? Hmm?"

Katsuki clenched his fists, sneering, his whole body shaking in rage.

Wires chuckled. "Now, I may be washing my hands from you, and maybe you can feel like you've won this one, but I guarantee, Katsuki. You _will_ regret this. It's like they say, eh? Won the battle, but lost the war?" He stood. "That friend of mine is _really_ good at what he does, I'm sure you'll, ah… _enjoy_ it a lot." He cackled at Katsuki's furious scowl and left.

Katsuki snarled and pulled his hair. That goddamn _bastard…!_ He was _selling him off_ before the fucking deadline…!

Maybe he should have expected such a cowardly move. But what now? What could he do _now?!_ "…Fuck…!" He spat under his shaky breath.

He forced himself to breathe slowly.

Okay… Wherever he was sent to next, he'd just have to do the same thing all over again, right? Try to find a way out, and if not possible… get put down.

Simple…!

He'd just have to wait a bit longer. Just a little bit. A few _months…!_ He could do it– _he could!_

He lay back down on the hard floor, glaring at the ceiling, the encounter replaying in his head again in brief flashes.

…Katsuki still did not like the way that man _looked_ at him… It sent uncomfortable chills down his spine. And he didn't want to wait any more months for this to be over. It was heavily implied that this shithead he was being _sold_ to had _money,_ and things would potentially be more painful than they already were.

 _He sometimes felt like he was at his limit already…_

But he'd have to _try…_ So long as he didn't die a slave, he'd win.

He had to.

He just _had_ to try…

 _It would be over. One day…_

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End file.
